Summer Intensive Faculty
Jen Aks
Aks grew up attending the Montclair, NJ performing arts schools where I studied various movement styles. I went on to receive my Associates Degree from Dean Jr. College in 1991 and my BFA degree in 1993 from The Music and Performing Arts Professions at New York University with a dance major and education minor. Performing & Educating continue to be an active part of my life. For the past 16 years, I have taught Arts Education to NYC public school children with National Dance Institute. From Harlem, to Chelsea, to the West Village, Tribeca, Chinatown, Brooklyn & Queens, I have taught the breadth of race, religion, age, and gender. Engaging with these children to motivate them toward excellence has been a profound inspiration in my life.
Sophie Alpern
Sophie holds a Masters degree in Dance Education with a concentration in ABT Ballet Pedagogy from New York University and is an ABT® Certified Teacher in Pre-Primary through Level Seven and Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from Vassar College, where her thesis project was titled “The Perception and Role of Dance and Classical Ballet in the Liberal Arts Academy.” Sophie danced leading roles with the Vassar Repertory Dance Theater, culminating in the principal role in Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie. She is also a graduate of The Brearley School in NYC.
Sophie has been teaching ballet to children and adults of all skill levels in NYC for the past twelve years. She currently holds faculty positions at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theater, and at the Steps on Broadway Youth Program. She formerly taught at LaGuardia High School and has taught company classes for Sarasota Ballet and Ballet Hispanico. She is excited to return to AYDT as a guest teacher.
Chantelle Good
Chantelle works as an Artistic Associate for TOES FOR DANCE, a non-profit organization directed by David Norsworthy and Kristen Carcone. She is also the Programs Director of Share the Movement, an organization committed to creating more diversity in the professional dance community. When she is not performing or working on a creative project, Chantelle enjoys sharing her knowledge and passion for dance as a teaching artist and guest choreographer for studios and intensives across North America. She continues to deepen her learning around decolonizing practices, in order to foster inclusive environments for her students and cultivate community whenever possible.
Rio Tasia Guillaume
Rio Tasia Guillaume grew up in Chicago, receiving her early dance training on scholarship from Larry Long and faculty at the Ruth Page Foundation before receiving her secondary education from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA. In New York City, Ms. Guillaume performed in venues such as the New York City Center and Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater. She also held Soloist and Company Manager positions for Kazuko Hirabayashi Dance Theatre and choreographed for Christian Cultural Center Dance Ministry, premiering work on ABC Television Network.
Ms. Rio spent a decade teaching at American Youth Dance Theater, where she coached students into earning acceptance from the School of American Ballet and LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, among others. At AYDT, Rio also achieved ABT® Certified, Affiliate, and Fellow Teacher Statuses having successfully presented her classes for annual ABT® Affiliate Examinations. Since then, Ms. Guillaume has returned to Chicago to direct her own local training program, Ballet with Ms. Rio. “My greatest joy in the dance world is to discover valuable lessons gained through dance training, connecting them to normal everyday life, and impart that wisdom to the next generation of dancers. I am thrilled to return to my NYC home at AYDT this summer!” For more information, please visit ballewithmsrio.com.
Jennifer Mayers Kreichman
Jennifer Mayers Kreichman is a New York City based certified Classical Pilates Instructor with over 20 years experience training professional and pre-professional dancers on all apparatus. Skilled at working with hyper-mobility, scoliosis and common injuries of the ankle, knee, hip and back, Ms. Kreichman works closely with physical therapists, dance instructors and orthopedists to create a program of strength training, alignment, recovery and injury prevention. She has worked with dancers from JKO, School of American Ballet, Eglevsky Ballet, Met Opera Ballet, and the Pennsylvania Ballet and has created a comprehensive program for the Adelphi University Department of Dance. Ms Kreichman creates a program for each individual to attain and maintain maximum functionality, enhanced strength, posture, alignment and mobility.
Andrea Peterson
I grew up playing every sport from Basketball to Softball, even dance, and then ended up playing and coaching Lacrosse in College. I never really thought of making a career out of fitness but began pursuing my yoga certification to find something that was a middle ground between dance and beating up my body in sports and fell in love with the mental and physical benefits of yoga. My yoga practice stems from Sthira Sukam; the balance of effort and ease. From yoga, my skill set transitioned into other areas of group fitness such as Cardio HIIT, Strength, Boxing, and all types of yoga. Throughout my yoga career, I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with athletes to performers, kids, seniors, and everyone in between. When I’m not teaching, I love hiking (so far, I’ve hiked in 9 different countries including a volcano in Guatemala), my happy place is skiing (zigzagging through the trees is like real-life Mario Kart for me), and you can often find me on a run with my adorable Aussie Doodle Millie (she sets quite the quick running pace).
Muriel “Murri-Lynette” Peterson began performing at age 4 with the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company in Syracuse, New York. In 2010, she performed with Dancing in The Streets: Hip-Hop Generation Next ’10 at Lincoln Center. She has also had the honor to perform with tap legends Marshall Davis Jr. and Ted Louis Levy. Most recently, Ms. Peterson was casted in Bill T. Jones’, Deep Blue Sea. Currently, she is a member of the Ladies of Hip-Hop Dance Collective training company. Muriel has a BA in Dance & Urban Studies, with a minor in Spanish language from Queens College—City University of New York, as well as an MFA in dance from Temple University.
Maiya Redding
Within the last couple of months, Maiya set my work “Breaking through the Generational Curse” on Alessandra Corona Performing Works, and will be working with the company again in February to extend the work. She also set another work “Chicago Luvin” on Dance Lab NY, and, in addition, created and choreographed her own film titled “The Evolution of Womb(man)hood” in August. For the past three years, Maiya has been working as a dance instructor teaching various classes including, ballet, hip hop, modern, and jazz.
As a choreographer and instructor, Maiya’s intention is to show the audience the beauty of artistry. She is a strong believer in individuality and is attracted to dancers that dare to be different. Her goal as a choreographer and dance instructor is to empower her students and make them feel powerful and strong.
Cassie Roberts Rossi
Cassie is on the committee for Dance Against Cancer, an organization that directly benefits the American Cancer Society and hosts its annual performance event at Lincoln Center. She also served on the Board for Dance New Jersey for five years. She is a friend of Zeno Mountain Farm, a non-profit in Vermont that hosts camps for adults with and without disabilities, where she also assists with choreography for their annual musical. Cassie teaches Barre, Pilates, cardio dance, and strength training fitness classes in Hoboken and Jersey City.
Shreya Rawat
Shreya Rawat was born and raised in New Delhi, India where she began her training at the Danceworx Performing Arts Academy and later joined the repertoire company. She trained in a variety of styles including ballet, jazz, modern, and hip hop under the guidance of various national and international faculty. She decided to pursue her passion and moved to the United States where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in modern dance and a minor in Psychology from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, under the guidance of Garfield Lemonius. While at Point Park, Shreya had the opportunity to perform works by acclaimed choreographers such as Camile A. Brown, Keisha Lalama, and Crystal Fraizier. Currently based in New York City, Shreya is a dancer with the Gotham Dance Theatre based in Queens, NY performing in their Summer Suit. She is also a performer and a teaching artist with Ajna Dance Company- a South Asian dance company based in New York. When not performing, Shreya teaches Jazz, Hip Hop, Indo-Contemporary, and Creative Movement to beginner, intermediate, and advanced level students. Shreya values discipline, diversity, authenticity, and empathy and aims to challenge the conventional standards in the dance community by embracing these values through her work.
Eriko Sugimura
Shreya Rawat was born and raised in New Delhi, India where she began her training at the Danceworx Performing Arts Academy and later joined the repertoire company. She trained in a variety of styles including ballet, jazz, modern, and hip hop under the guidance of various national and international faculty. She decided to pursue her passion and moved to the United States where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in modern dance and a minor in Psychology from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, under the guidance of Garfield Lemonius. While at Point Park, Shreya had the opportunity to perform works by acclaimed choreographers such as Camile A. Brown, Keisha Lalama, and Crystal Fraizier. Currently based in New York City, Shreya is a dancer with the Gotham Dance Theatre based in Queens, NY performing in their Summer Suit. She is also a performer and a teaching artist with Ajna Dance Company- a South Asian dance company based in New York. When not performing, Shreya teaches Jazz, Hip Hop, Indo-Contemporary, and Creative Movement to beginner, intermediate, and advanced level students. Shreya values discipline, diversity, authenticity, and empathy and aims to challenge the conventional standards in the dance community by embracing these values through her work.
